Dangote refinery refuses petrol sales to six NMDPRA-licenced importers

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has moved to restrict the sale of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, to six major marketers holding active import licences issued by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), a development that could further reshape competition in the downstream petroleum market.

The affected companies are: Matrix Energy, A.A. Rano, AYM Shafa, NIPCO, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, and Bono Energy.

The six marketers were among companies granted licences by NMDPRA in May, to import a combined 720,000 metric tonnes of petrol, with individual allocations ranging from 60,000 to 150,000 tonnes.

Sources familiar with the refinery’s position said Dangote would prioritise petrol sales to marketers that do not hold active import licences, while companies currently importing PMS under the Federal Government’s approved import regime may no longer be supplied by the refinery.

The development comes amid growing concerns at the refinery over the volume of imported petrol entering Nigeria despite increased domestic refining capacity.

According to market data cited by the refinery, imported PMS accounted for about 43 percent of total petrol supply in July, reducing the share of the domestic market available to local refiners.

Dangote Refinery has consistently argued that continued petrol imports could undermine investment in domestic refining capacity, particularly as its 650,000-barrel-per-day facility increases production.

Industry sources said the refinery’s position is also linked to concerns over the quality of imported petrol and the possibility of imported products being blended with locally refined PMS before distribution.

Such blending, the sources said, could make it difficult for consumers and regulators to distinguish between imported and Dangote-produced petrol, potentially exposing the refinery’s brand to quality-related complaints.

The refinery has also raised concerns about the adequacy of regulatory quality-control infrastructure for imported PMS, particularly the capacity to independently test and verify imported products before they enter the domestic market.

The latest development could result in a sharper division within Nigeria’s petrol market, with Dangote Refinery focusing its domestic supply on non-importing marketers while the six licenced companies rely more heavily on imported cargoes.

It could also intensify competition between locally refined and imported petrol at a time when marketers are contending with fluctuations in international crude prices, foreign exchange costs and global supply conditions.

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Separately, Dangote Petroleum Refinery is involved in a legal dispute with the NMDPRA over the regulator’s directive concerning the loading and truck-out of petroleum products from the refinery.

Dangote Refinery secures interim court order

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has issued an interim order restraining NMDPRA from enforcing its directive suspending the loading and truck-out of petroleum products from the Dangote refinery in the Lekki Free Zone.

Justice Akintayo Aluko also barred the regulator, its officers, agents and representatives from sealing, shutting down, restricting access to, obstructing, suspending, disrupting, inspecting, supervising, sanctioning or otherwise interfering with the refinery’s operations pending the determination of the substantive application before the court.

The order followed an ex-parte application filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE in suit No. FHC/L/CS/1174/2026.

NMDPRA had issued the disputed directive on August 24, 2026, suspending the loading and truck-out of petroleum products from the refinery.

Dangote challenged the directive through its legal team, led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria Olawale Akoni and Abimbola Akeredolu, arguing that NMDPRA lacked the authority to exercise the regulatory powers contemplated by the directive over its operations within the free zone.

In granting the interim injunction, Justice Aluko said he had considered the refinery’s affidavit, exhibits, submissions by counsel and NMDPRA’s August 24 letter.

The judge also referred to a March 2, 2026 letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation which, according to the court, stated that NMDPRA was not entitled to exercise regulatory powers or oversight functions over operations within free zones.

The court consequently granted Dangote’s request for an interim injunction and directed the refinery to file a formal undertaking to indemnify NMDPRA in damages should it subsequently be found that the interim order ought not to have been granted.

The case has been adjourned until September 9, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice.

Meanwhile, NNPC Limited has urged the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and the Federal Government’s Backward Integration Policy do not impose a blanket prohibition on petroleum product imports.

The state-owned oil company maintained that imports remain permissible where necessary to guarantee national fuel supply and prevent shortages.

NNPC also argued that NMDPRA acted within its statutory powers in issuing the disputed import licences, maintaining that the law permits the licensing of companies with local refining capacity or an established track record in petroleum trading.

It further contended that the PIA does not prohibit fuel imports except where there is a verified domestic supply surplus, arguing that imports remain a legitimate mechanism for maintaining product availability and stabilising prices.

The court dispute is separate from Dangote Refinery’s decision to restrict PMS sales to the six licensed importers, although both developments form part of the wider debate over domestic refining, petrol imports, regulation and competition in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.